Martie's "Use What You Have Holiday" Ideas: Make Apple Votives

For those of you who could not join us this year at the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show in Washington, DC... we missed you! We had a blast and even had time to explore our Nation's capital on  a totally gorgeous weekend. We hit the foodie spots like Jaleo for tapas and some of the standards like the Old Ebbitt Inn. We had a wonderful weekend and met so many nice folks!

The holidays will be here before you blink... so here are some of the ideas I included in my "Use What You Have Holiday" workshop using re-purposed items you have around the house for holiday decorating and entertaining.  

APPLE VOTIVES

6 apples, very ripe (select apples that sit up straight)

6 tealights

clear acrylic spray

These were a big hit and were the easiest thing ever. Use a teaspoon or a mini melon baller to scoop a shallow hole just slightly larger than your tealight.

You want the tealight to sit down into the apple so when the candle melts and the wax is hot, it won't spill out over the top of the apple. After you check the apple to make sure the tealight fits properly, remove it and spray the inside of the apple with the acrylic spray to keep the apple from turning brown. Once dry, replace the tealight.

Want more "Use What You Have Holiday" ideas? Try some of these:

Tin Can Centerpieces

Make a Woven Table Runner

New Ideas for Cylinder Vases

Pumpkin Snowman & Angel

Dessert Cocktails

Easy Appetizer: Goat Cheese Truffles

FOLLOW MARTIE ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE RECIPES, COCKTAILS, PARTY IDEAS, AND FUN!

Thanksgiving How-To: The Complete Thanksgiving 911

From our Thanksgiving table photo shoot with Vietri & Bromberg's for Birmingham Home & Garden MagazineOK, I am crazy busy these days--- like most people. Video shoots, photo shoots, recipe development, party planning sessions, meetings, meetings about the meetings, etc, etc! And I don't have to carpool or take a dog to the vet, go to the soccer game, and all of those other things most women I know have on their schedule every day. WOW. How doyou have time to do it all? Well, I started looking for a resource to help some readers who've asked me for help for their Thanksgiving get-togethers. Instead of piecing the information together, my friends at MyRecipes.com have come up with a complete how-to guide to Thanksgiving. You can find answers to your most asked questions: everything from problems with lumpy gravy to thawing your bird, dry dressing and lots more. If you can't find the answer to your Thanksgiving dilemma here-- shoot me an email and we'll help you!

Go to MyRecipes.com Thanksgiving 911 slideshow

More Thanksgiving resources:

Pumpkin Pie Recipes & Tips

Turkey Hotline

Favorite Holiday Casserole Recipes

USDA Food Safety Hotline

Holiday Decorations for the Kids

Once again my precious niece Kaitlin has put together some adorable decorations for our family's holiday gathering. She used apples, peanuts, almonds, some googly craft eyes and a paper napkin folded as the big bird's tail feathers. Aren't they great? Keep these apple turkey centerpieces in mind for next year, or add a wide black, some cotton and you've got a cute Santa. We'll have photos of those soon for your kid's holiday party decorations. And there's no waste because you can peel and eat these later! Thanks Katie! You're the best!